Together, Oscar Robertson and Lucas Gould have raised $45,000 since last November, on their way to the estimated $65,000 they will need to finish the basketball court. / Provided

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The Kid and The Legend stand side by side, where a basketball court will be. That’s what the boy’s aunt calls them. The Kid and The Legend. Lucas Gould is 6-foot-8 and 17 years old, with a big future. Oscar Robertson is 6-foot-5 and 75, with an immeasurably big past. They met in the present last fall, to produce hope for a group of men who desperately need it.

Hoops For the Homeless is what Lucas called the project. It would be a 3-on-3 basketball court at Talbert House’s Parkway Center. Talbert House is a way station of salvation for men who’ve stumbled. Lucas chose basketball because he plays the game, as a rising senior at Indian Hill High. He recruited Robertson because he played the game as well as anyone who ever lived.

Together, they’ve raised $45,000 since last November, on their way to the estimated $65,000 they will need to finish the basketball court, and an adjacent garden. It hasn’t been a showy effort. No large-scale fundraisers or celebrity golf tournaments. Just a few thousand e-mails, some letters and phone calls. And a conviction that you’re never too young or old to make things better for someone.

“I think back when I was growing up. All the boys in our neighborhood needed something to do. Sports kept us busy.’’

Robertson had known Lucas’ father, sports and entertainment agent Jim Gould, for many years. He has known Barbara Gould, Lucas’ aunt, longer than that. They approached Robertson last fall, and introduced him to Lucas, who had an idea.

It’s not easy convincing the average 17-year-old to do anything beyond sleep long hours and eat all your food. To have him actually give of himself in service to others. . .

“Quiet kid,’’ Robertson said of his partner in hope. “Seemed to have some inner strength.’’

Lucas’ aunt was his main inspirer. Barbara Gould has spent decades doing good in Cincinnati. She was the Enquirer’s Woman of the Year in 1997. Gould owns a special fondness for Talbert House, mainly because she likes how it’s run. Over the years, she has donated time and money for countless amenities there. Most recently, she bought several winter coats for the residents. “Great time of year to buy winter coats,’’ she explained.

They studied the modest chunk of open space at Parkway Center, and judged it large enough for a half court, big enough for games of three-on-three. They wanted a memorial garden, too, to honor veterans, most notably Lucas’ late grandfather, Howard Gould, a lieutenant commander in the Navy in World War II.

Lucas started writing letters, to all the pro sports leagues. He put together an e-mailing list and sent out 5,000 e-mails. The money came in small chunks, befitting the grassroots style of the project: The NBA gave $1,500 and basketballs. Jim Gould says 15 groups have given $1,000 each, but mostly, it was $10 here and $20 there, from individuals and nearly 200 groups. It’s still coming.

Lucas already has learned the essential secret of giving: It works both ways. Effort that comes from the heart returns to the heart, to live. “People will know I was a part of this,’’ Lucas says. “That’s all I need.’’

As Barbara Gould puts it, “If you give, you get. We’re living in a rather distant time. People want to touch and be touched. They want to dig deep into themselves. It’s not stupid or weird to be good.’’

What if all of us, just once in our lives, took the time to do good that Lucas and Oscar took? How much better might our town be?

They broke ground Tuesday. The Oscar Robertson Court of Dreams is expected to be ready by mid-June, for the dozen or so residents of Parkway Center. The Big O promises to be there for the ribbon-cutting. He says he’ll even take a few jumpers, though he allows that “the basketball bones are aching just a little.’’